Another valuable support service has been lost on the Conservative government’s watch. This time it’s the former Vernon Women’s Centre, which closed its doors May 8 after 30 years of service.
The centre, which provided assistance to about 1,500 women last year, offered counselling, legal advocacy, personal safety training, resources for single mothers and referrals for women experiencing violence. It also provided access to food, shower and laundry services.
The centre reports that it began experiencing financial difficulties in 2004 when the province cut back funding to women’s centres. Cuts in federal funding only made matters worse.
Interestingly, about a week prior at the federal all-candidates forum in Salmon Arm, Okanagan-Shuswap MP Colin Mayes was given an opportunity to respond to the charge that the Conservative government has been dismantling frameworks for women’s equality and cutting programs that vulnerable women need. Mayes rejected the notion that his party is not supporting women’s rights and status in the country.
Mayes explained the Conservative government found that 65 per cent of the funding allocated through Status of Women Canada was “going to the amnesty groups” and wasn’t getting out to the people needing it most. Unfortunately, the MP did not clarify what he meant by “amnesty groups,” and who qualifies in the Conservative view as most needy.
Mayes did say money saved from the reduction of status of women offices, from 14 to five, was refocused into women’s programs. Clearly, this refocus did not benefit the Vernon Women’s Shelter, which cost between $15,000 to $20,000 a year to operate.
This seems a small amount for a service that can literally be a lifeline for those who, are unfairly marginalized and have increasingly fewer places to turn to for help.